HotelChatter

For a property that uses no harsh chemical cleaning agents, the Orchard's rooms looked pretty clean to me -- I know how hard it is to keep white bathroom tiles spanking clean. The rooms themselves are comfy though not extraordinary.

The color-scheme of wheat and light green is about as plain vanilla as it gets. The rooftop garden is a very nice touch, a little respite away from the hustle and bustle.

I was also impressed with the room service fare, which comes from the on-property Roots Restaurant. Roots boasts that it uses organic and local ingredients whenever possible. That sounds nice but what I loved about the room service was the prices were no higher than at the restaurant itself and the food was quite good.

Risotto with trumpet mushrooms and asparagus was perfectly cooked and had enough cheese overtones to say "Italia" without becoming a cream-drenched parody of itself.

A few basic beefs:

· The toilet paper, which is probably recycled, is on the rough side.
· The fitness offerings are meager -- a single room with two treadmills and another cardio machine facing a flat-panel TV. Sure, you can get a pass to a local gym for what they say is a "nominal" fee of $15 but that sounds to me like the going rate at most gyms.

Would I stay there again? Yes, for sure and for one primary reason alone. The rooms are very quiet and cocoon-like, an Earth Mama hideaway in this green crazy city.

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· The Orchard Garden Hotel: Semi-stream of consciousness review [HotelChatter]